Tag Archives: Gelato

Our trip from Rome to Venice was broken up by stop at Verona, the city most famous for being the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. After stopping in to see “Juliet’s Balcony”, we grabbed a scoop of gelato and had a quick walk around the city before it was time to be back on the bus and onto Venice.

We were staying in a campsite on the mainland so the evening we got in was a relaxing one with dinner in the Topdeck cook tent and a chance to catch up on some much needed sleep. The next day we took the bus to the parking area on Tronchetto and then the monorail into Venice. From there we had a brief walking tour across the island to St. Mark’s Square before the highlight of any trip to Venice, a Gondola ride through the canals. It was definitely one of those “Wow, I’m actually here” moments. We also had visits to a lace factory and a glass factory for the chance to purchase some traditional Venetian wares.

For lunch, we found this little restaurant down a side street near St Mark’s Square where I had pasta with eggplant. After lunch we took a scenic walk around the city. Venice is one of those great places where it’s actually fun to almost get yourself lost just wandering around admiring the buildings and the canals. In our exploring, we also managed to find a little pasticceria that we had passed during our morning tour and sampled some Italian biscuits and other treats. We then took the monorail back to Tronchetto and home to the campsite, where we started the celebrations for my birthday the next day.

My Food

One thing in Italy that I didn’t eat as much as what I was expected to was pasta. Rome and Venice had Topdeck cook tents at the campsites and typical meals were usually meat based with salad or vegetables. So by the time we got to Venice, I really just wanted to have some proper Italian pasta, and I did just that. While the pasta I had in Venice was vegetable based, for my meal back home I decided I wanted to embrace another speciality of Venice, seafood, by making a Prawn, Basil and Chilli Pasta. I’ve already talked several times about the delicious simplicity of Italian food and this pasta was very much along those lines.

After the success of my Vanilla Gelato, for my dessert I decided to try making Chocolate Gelato. This recipe uses cornflour instead of eggs to thicken the mixture which allows the full rich flavour of the chocolate to come through.

After celebrating our last morning in France with a tasty breakfast of croissant, we hopped on the bus and began our journey to Italy. If the drives in Switzerland were the most spectacular of the trip, then the drive along the French and Italian Riviera would have to come a close second. Featuring some glorious views of the Mediterranean, the motorway itself is a series of tunnels through the hillside and viaducts that seem to span across valleys of coastal villages.

After stopping for at a travel/rest stop for lunch, I had the chance to sample ‘Fonzies’, the Italian version of Twisties. Personally, I think their slogan “Se non ti lecchi le dita godi solo a metà” which translates to “If you do not lick your fingers you enjoy only half” is much better than the Australian one “Life’s pretty straight without…”

Pisa was the first destination of the Italian Leg of our journey, and we all took turns posing for the cliché Leaning Tower pic. Back on the bus and onwards to Florence. After settling in to the hostel, we had some free time to explore the streets near our hostel. Here we stumbled upon a cute little bakery selling all kinds of biscuits and treats, which we of course had to sample.

The next day we had a guided tour of the historical streets and buildings of Florence before waiting in line for about an hour to see the Statue of David. After that we had no time for a sit down lunch so stopped into a little cafe/gelateria/pizzeria and bought a focaccia sandwich. Followed by a healthy serving of gelato for dessert. Following lunch we hopped back on the bus and made our way to Rome.

My Food

While there was nothing particularly fancy about the sandwich I had for lunch in Florence, there was something so delectably simple about the fresh Italian Focaccia filled with fresh mozzarella cheese, prosciutto and salad. So I attempted to re-create it at home using this focaccia recipe (minus the olives), prosciutto, tasty cheese, basil leaves, and a mix of salad vegetables (tomato, capsicum, spinach & rocket). The flavours work so well together and made a rather amazing lunch.

Despite my lactose intolerance, I was intent on tasting authentic Italian gelato while in Italy so armed with a supply of Lacteeze tablets I did just that. Thankfully when I decided to try making my own gelato at home, I realised I can use my own lactose free milk so my gelato is already lactose-free, no Lacteeze required. The recipe had a custard base which (well, I had to something with all those egg yolks from my macarons) resulted in a gelato that is rich and creamy with a smooth texture despite not having an ice-cream maker.